Chapter 18) A grey mouse or a serpent
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She had locked the door.
In the early morning when his racing mind didn't grand him a moment of sleep Tommy had checked up with Finn. As old habits die slow, his little brother had managed to kick his blanket to the end of his bed and was now uncomfortably shivering, being deprived from warmth. After cautiously tucking Finn in, Tommy inquisitively turned the knob of his bedroom door. The lock wouldn't budge and the exclusion of the passage struck him deep, causing internal turmoil that kept him company until the break of dawn.
Tommy was dead set on finding Maria's mother and sisters and bringing them to Watery lane in one piece. Arthur and John were reluctant to bombard into the Pratt's household and collect the damsels in distress. It had nothing to do with the threat of coppers, hell it wouldn't be the first house to be bashed in broad daylight by the Blinders.
No, his brothers weren't too keen on his idea to bring three more people into their home.
Polly was even more appalled by his idea and had been calling him a fool, an idiot and a few other nicknames he'd rather not repeat -if he could-.
But he'd been quiet bold to his aunt and informed her that if she wanted him back working for their business again and remain as Arthur's 'advisor', she'd better suck up her venom and follow his orders. Or at least stop complaining about them.
Tommy didn't just want to save the poor women from a man like Pratt. It was also to show Maria he was trustworthy. As his official speaker he couldn't have her fearing him and he figured he had to show her a generous and protective side to regain her trust and loyalty.
And his little rescue mission had another reason, it was to prove himself he wasn't walking in the footsteps of his father. He inherited his father's trademark sly grin and mirrored the same stoic glance in his eyes his mother always hated. He didn't want to follow his father's lust for dominance and devilness.
He knew he'd crossed a line that night in the Shepard and had to repent. And since he didn't believe in God he figured busting Pratt's door open would do more good then a few hail mary's.
Or actually, it was Arthur who kicked the door in and waltzed in swinging with his fists and foul mouth. John came in second and easily swooped the coffee table through the open door. A chair followed and it took a moment before another set of furniture came crashing through the window.
Tommy checked his pocket watch and stomped out his cigarette against the doorbell. He had manners, it's always polite to let your guest know when you arrive.
Inside the tiny living room ruled absolute chaos. Arthur was choking Walter Pratt and John kept his revolver firmly pointed at the two prepubescent boys who where down on their knees with their hands raised up. Miss Pratt was yet again screaming her lungs out and pulled her hair hysterically, stomping her feet onto the floor.
Tommy didn't look at her twice and ignored the pleading gazes from both boys as he made his way through the wrecked household.
Arthur reflectively yanked Walter Pratt down on his knees and kept a firm grasp around the man's neck.
"I already told ya!" Mr Pratt shouted, his sweat reeking of fear, "She ain't here!"
Calmly Tommy stepped a little closer and lowered down to meet with Mr Pratt at eye level and pulled out his notebook to show Pratt a message he'd written in advance. So you thought you could ring her wedding bells?
The colour faded from Pratt's sweaty face and Arthur used a little more pressure around his neck. Tommy effectively smashed his knuckles into the eye socket of the kneeling man.
Ever so calm, Tommy tore the page from his notebook and showed Pratt another previous written message. You think you own her?
In response, he drew his fist into the man's face, giving him another black eye.
Taking his time to tear out another paper he observed as the man in front of him cried out in pain. Puzzled, he wondered if Mr Pratt would be able to read his third note if his eyelids kept swelling.
She's with the Peaky Blinder now. And so are her mother and sisters. They're coming with me, and if you come near them again, you will regret it.
To give his written message more power, Tommy lit up a cigarette, inhaled deeply and yanked the man's jaw open. Puffing clouds of nicotine into Mr Pratt's face and without any hesitation pressed out the end of his cigarette on Pratt's tongue.
A howl more animalistic than human echoed through the house and even Mrs Pratt stopped screaming. Tommy was thankful for the reduction of noise and tapped the weeping man on his shoulders. Nodding towards John, he motioned to Mrs Pratt.
"We are the mum and kids?" John snapped masking his squeamishness, John always had a high aversion towards torture and would rather bluff his way through life.
But sometimes you had to make your point.
"D- Dotty is upstairs, May and April are in the shed," Miss Pratt stammered terrified and frozen on her feet.
Tommy snapped his fingers and pointed at John to go into the yard to retrieve the girls, when facing Arthur, his older brother's grib around Pratt's neck was enough reassurance he would stay put and Tommy quickly marched up the stairs.
The hallways were filthy and every board creaked underneath his feet. Rushing up another set of stairs he wondered how many mice where populating the house.
Tommy gently knocked on the door, he wasn't intending to startle the woman. For a moment he waited for a response then cursed himself for being such an idiot. Somehow he failed to remember Maria's mother was deaf.
Feeling like an intruder, Tommy cautiously peeked around the corner, inside a person stirred on the bed and quickly sprung up. Maria's mother recognised him but wasn't relieved by his presence. On the contrary, the woman dove towards the nearest weapon she could find, a silver hairpin. The resemblance to Maria was uncunning, but at least this time he wasn't staring into the barrel of his own revolver.
I found her, he quickly signed and a tremble ran through the body of the woman, she's safe.
Is she alright? Maria's mother signed back and Tommy nodded.
The hairpin fell to the floor and before Tommy knew it, the woman flung her arms around his shoulders and held him close.
"Th-ank...you," the mother muttered grateful and stepped back, "Th-...ank you!"
Tommy was surprised to hear the deaf woman speak, it hadn't occurred to him that although she was hearing impaired there was nothing wrong with her vocal cords.
Pack your belongs, I'm taking you and your daughters away from here. You'll be safe with me, Tommy signed, his reasureness raising scepticisme he could understand. But she gave him the benefit of the doubt and rushed to fill up two suitcases with rags and tatters Tommy wouldn't even use to whip his shoes off.
When the two of them came downstairs Tommy cursed himself for not giving her a little warning but the mother didn't even blink. Two young girls instinctively threw themselves around her body and hid their faces from all the turmoil surround them.
Tommy snapped his fingers to get John's attention and pointed at the suitcases. His younger brother huffed and muttered under his breath that he wasn't 'a fucking mule' but was generous enough to pick up the suitcases.
Tommy directed himself to Arthur and nudged his head towards the front door and in response Arthur lifted the death grip from Pratt's neck.
"Don't think you can ever come back here, Dotty!" Mrs Pratt spat at her sister, "you make your choice if you step outside this house, you and your daughter's will never be welcome here ever again!"
We weren't welcome in the first place, Maria's mother signed in response and ushered her two young daughters to get moving.
"I'll report you for this!" Mr Pratt warned waverly, with a lisp and saliva dripping down his chin.
Tommy threw him an disgustingly sly grin and threw down a few pennies and a note. For the window.
.-.-.
The snowball effect the little grey mouse caused had Polly set to a boiling point. This had not been according to plan. Instead of being a bird chirping in her ear, the girl had turned into a snake and had slithered her way into Watery Lane.
What affected her the most was how much of the old Tommy showed ever since she returned.
Yesterday - when she'd been praying on her bloody knees to keep her family safe and sound - her two nephews returned all in one piece and drunk on expensive wine and hauteur.
The self indulge smug worn by Tommy's silenced lips brought back memories from before the war. I told you not to worry, he'd written down while Arthur shared a bottle with John and bragged about how they tamed those bloody spaghetti-eaters. Tommy had been passively sitting in the middle of their cramped kitchen observing his chaotic family and contently sipping from his bottle. He'd been silent of course, but not timid and laughed brightly as Arthur imitated Russo with a heavy accent and a posh walk.
Oh, how she missed hearing that laugh.
Yesterday Tommy had allowed himself to be part of his family again. No-one spoke a word about it, but everyone had been aware.
So, maybe this grey mouse should be granted a humble bit of respect although she'd stabbed the Shelby family in the back by suddenly vanishing into thin air. Tommy seemed to forgive her though, but Polly was the queen of holding grudges.
Sipping on her tea, Polly observed the young lass; she'd positioned herself on the chair facing the window and fiddled nervously with the hem of her borrowed skirt. Although she'd cut her hair she still maintained her girlishness with her hopeful doo eyes and small button nose she wrinkled every now and then as a nervous tic.
"I won't be your spy anymore", Maria said without looking away from the window. Polly blinked at the girl and wondered why she thought she could make demands.
"I want to be your alley," the little grey mouse continued. "We have a shared interest, we both need Tommy to be well. But I don't think summing me up every monday morning for a review of his habits and whereabouts will work. He's not stupid, eventually he will find out you've been using me as a pawn to keep an eye on him. It won't do us both no good to get cross with him. I will be of influence," Maria referred to Polly's own pick of words, "and I will try my best to keep him well. I will inform you if I fear his alcohol use grows out of proportions."
Polly's heart fell when she heard the girl talk about her nephew's obvious self destructive tendencies.
"You've must forgotten your place, " Polly replied coldly. "But don't worry I will explain it again to you dear," she spoke as to a simpleton. "You're here for one reason and one reason alone, because you happen to be fluent in sign language. Other then that, you're nothing more than a wench from the working-class."
The girl's eyes darted from the window for a moment and her hands stopped plucking on the hem of her sleeves. "I'm well aware I'm nothing more than a tool, but I'm not easily replaceable, else I wouldn't be here. But a tool nonetheless. If Tommy finds out you're using me as a spy he will scold me and maybe I'll deserve a flogging, but he will keep using me. But you, you're his kin, his blood, and he will feel betrayed, it'll cut him deep." The girl's eyes left the window again to meet Polly's. "That will do him no good. Please allow me to be your alley, we both want to keep our families safe."
Before Polly could respond, Ada dragged herself into the kitchen, her niece had never been a morning person, that was one of the traits she and her mother shared.
"Morning," Ada muttered unaware of the tension and poured herself a cup of tea. "Does anyone want a refill?"
For a moment the three women stared thoughtfully into steamy porcelain until Ada cleared the silence.
"Pol, can you read Maria her future?" She asked enthusiastically. "Yesterday she told me she'd never been to a fair and how she enjoys Charlie's stories about our roots." Ada turned to Maria and chattered on. "Aunt Poll inherited the spiritual sense from my great-grandmother. She has a third eye…" She added mysteriously, tapping in between her brows.
Although Pol didn't feel any need peek into the future of the meddlesome lass, she was flattered by Ada's words. Pushing asides saucers, cutlery, and other cooking ware, she cleared their dinner table and ordered Maria to sit with them. The girl seemed reluctant to abandon her seat facing the window but did what she'd been told.
"You're right handed?" She asked and received a simple nod of the head for an answer. "Swirl your cup three times in a counter clockwise direction, clear your mind and drink but leave about a tablespoon of tea."
Maria drank from her cup and carefully placed the porcelain back on the table. Polly closed her eyes allowing her mind to relax. As a child she'd been shunned by neighbours, after she predicted her elderly neighbours death. The lady had been old and sick, her father had called it damn luck, but in her heart Polly knew it had been more than coincidence.
She'd been ridiculed and wasn't allowed to play with some of the children from her street. Her nana had been harsh about her grief and snapped at her that being different was their family curse. But wait and see Pollyanna, after twilight you will earn your shillings.
Her nana had been right, neighbours that avoided her during the day and wished to be told their future after the dusk had settled. Her father greedly took advantage of their faith in their young local fortune teller. Many times she'd been wrong, caused by her inexperience but no-one ever dared to address her flaws simply because visiting her was a taboo in the first place.
As she grew older the whispers appeared, her father first called it childish imagination and plain insanity when she reached her teens. After she lost both her children to the police the whispers never left, so maybe her father had been right. But she wouldn't be the first in their family to be insane and perfectly able to function.
The voices of both girl's bubbled up ever so often but disappeared into a void of black nothingness and Polly concentrated on the whispering from afar.
Polly stared through her lashes and picked the cup with both her hands.
"There is a axe simbole near the top of your cup, indicating you'll overcome problems. I see birds, which are usually good signs, but they are near the bottom of your cup, so it means you'll be on a journey and not likely a nice one to endure." Polly brows furrowed upwards before molding into a deep line. "On the bottom of your cup lays a cross, quick child give me your hand."
Ada reached forward to peek inside the cup and gasped. "That means death!"
Maria looked upset at the two gypsies and cleared her throat. "But this is just superstition right? Charlie told me all about-"
Without giving the girl the time to finish Polly grasped her wrist and pulled her right hand closer. The whispers breathed into her ears and she felt rushed, as a fox chased by bloodhounds.
Quickly she scanned the calloused working-class hand. "Your life line splits into two. This means you'll be forced to make a choice between two persons you love deeply. One is long, the other end short." Polly ran her index finger over both lines and ended at the shortest one. "This one is near your lifeline, which means you will have your heart broken. One of your loved ones will die before you'll become truly happy."
Shocked Maria drew her hand back and held it close to her chest as if she'd been burned by Polly's touch. The girl wore the same scared expression as Polly's mother did when she woke her parents to inform them that their elderly neighbour died.
"This is just gypsy superstition," Maria muttered tense, "or a simple trick just like how Tommy shuffles his cards."
The three women weren't granted more time to clear the thickening air because the front door flung open and two hysterical girls threw themselves into the lap of their older sister. Arthur bombarded in after, quickly rummaging into their liquor cabinet for a bottle of strong alcohol, to sterilize his scraped knuckles by the looks of them. John entered, indifferent to the crying women around him, he'd had his fair share of female drama on an everyday basis with a sister like Ada.
A third woman ran inside and cried by the sight of her lost daughter, pulling her into a tight hug. The whole scene of a small family reuniting should have been heartwarming but Polly knew these newcomers would only bring trouble. These were four more mouths to feed and four more people to worry about. So four times as much trouble in Polly's eyes.
Trust only kin, was the second rule Polly lived by ever since she lost both her children. And now there where a lot of ears that could eavesdrop and ruin the pleasant life she and her family deserved after being downtrodden by the more fortunate and the hand of the law.
Tommy was the last one to enter Watery Lane, boasting with a newly gained self confidence and seemed somewhat affected by the emotional gorgers.
Hugging her lost daughter tightly to her chest the mother directed herself to Tommy and started signing with gratitude and relief washed over her face, clearing all deep lines and tightness. Tommy casually made a few gestures with his hands and the woman's smile was warm enough to heat up the entire house.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Polly whispered softly to her nephew, "all these gorgers in our house, I'm not liking this for a bit. The girl, she is a cursed one, I tell you that, I've seen it Thomas, she'll bring trouble and misfortune. She'll damn us all."
Tommy gave her a long bored look and brushed her warnings off with a wave of his hand. Polly bit her tongue to keep herself from telling Tommy about her hand reading. It would be useless, he had his mother's common sense and his father's thickness. Although he treasured their inherited superstition he would throw her warning in the wind, simply because the girl was part of his plan.
And the whole world could go to hell before Tommy Shelby would give up his plans.
So for the time being, Polly would remain a bystander but keep her eyes and ears open. And sleep with a dagger underneath her pillow, if she had to.
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This chapter practically wrote itself. I didn't intend to go so overboard with Tommy's -everything but delicate- way of warning Maria's uncle. But like I said, this chapter practically wrote itself and it just happened. I think it's in character and in Tommy's defense he only did it to keep Maria safe. Again #TeamMuteTommy, everything evil will be forgiven.
Next chapter might take a while because I have so many idea's and I need to place everything in order.
Love to hear from you,
Xoxox Nukyster
